In his 11 games since the trade that sent Peja Stojakovic to the Indiana Pacers, Artest has averaged 18.1 points, 6.1 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.91 steals playing small forward — and he isn't in top shape yet.

With his new teammates adjusting to him, the Kings have won five of their last seven games and are only 2½ games out of the eighth playoff spot in the Western Conference going into the All-Star break.

"He's definitely had an impact on the way we defend, because he is a great defender," coach Rick Adelman said. "He gives us a guy who can basically shut down people. He also does things you just can't teach. He has great instinct, and he has great physical ability."

Teammate Brad Miller, who has played with Artest both with the Pacers and the Chicago Bulls, said: "It's contagious how he plays. When a guy plays so hard, it kind of makes you step up your game defensively."

The Kings have had to scrap parts of their Princeton motion offense in favor of more of an isolation game with Artest, but they are still in the process of defining their new identity.

It was feared that point guard Mike Bibby wouldn't be as effective with Artest in the lineup as he was with Stojakovic. That hasn't been a problem, even though Bibby has been getting about three fewer shots a game and not quite as many open looks. Over the last nine outings, Bibby is averaging 15.9 points on 39.1% shooting, taking 14.8 shots a game. Before that, he was averaging 21.3 points, shooting 44.1% and getting eight shots a game. The Kings have won six of those games.

In 20.5 minutes a game playing behind Rasho Nesterovic, Mohammed, in the last 12 games, nine of them victories, has averaged eight points and 8.4 rebounds (3.2 of them offensive) and shot 54.7% from the field.

"I've been happy for the opportunity to play a little more," Mohammed said. "I've just tried to contribute any way I can."

Mohammed has helped make up for a slumping Tim Duncan, who, over the last six games, has shot 39.1% and averaged 15 points. Mohammed, who had a career-high 20 rebounds and a season-high 18 points in Wednesday's overtime loss to the Philadelphia 76ers, is a physical presence inside at the defensive end, and his offensive rebounding has given the Spurs a boost.

"Nazr has really done well at both ends of floor," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said.

The sieve defense:

The Seattle SuperSonics are the easiest team in the NBA to score on this season. Not only are they giving up a league-high 106.7 points a game, 4.1 more than any other team and the most since the Boston Celtics yielded 107.9 in the 1996-97 season, but teams are also making a league-high 38% of their three-point shots against them.

West still best:

Western Conference teams went 14-8 against the East last week, bringing their season record to 189-144 (.567).